Roddick works wonders with clay

By Mark Hodgkinson in Rome

12:01AM BST 10 May 2007

To borrow from the lexicon of young Americans, such as Andy Roddick, yesterday at the Foro Italico was "screwy", or "goofy" even. Certainly, Roddick's opening appearance at the Rome Masters was some way off the clay-court grind and hardship which the Texan usually anticipates when trekking around the brick-dust arenas of Europe.

Roddick's second-round, 6-1, 7-6 defeat of Gaston Gaudio, an Argentine who was once the King of Clay, as the 2004 French Open champion, had its quirks. As Roddick noted, how often does he come off a clay court, or any court, and declare that his most effective shot was his drop-shot? Or serve-and-volley on the dirt with such success? Or see his opponent, while rocking on his heels by the baseline at match point down, loop an outrageous drop-volley winner? Or beat a past Roland Garros winner? Although Roddick plainly enjoys the lighter side of life, and once hosted 'Saturday Night Live', the American comedy show, his previous adventures, or misadventures, on red clay have generally been short on mirth and hilarity.

His speedy serve and his whip-crack forehand, which are such weapons on faster surfaces, have been tempered by the clay granules, and the weaknesses in his backhand have also been exposed. But yesterday Roddick, the world No 3, was even moved to declare that he had actually had "fun" on the clay, which is not a comment you expect from him.

Of course, Roddick is never going to be a genuine contender for the biggest prizes on clay, such as the French Open which starts in a fortnight from Sunday. Roddick, who will be joined in Paris by his coaching consultant, Jimmy Connors, has a poor record in the French capital, with just four wins from his six visits. One "fun" match is not going to suddenly make Roddick into an all-singing, all-dancing, all-sliding European-style dirt-courter, and he may not even get past another Argentine, Juan Ignacio Chela, today, but at least he is game, at least he is trying.

"It's tough for us Americans on clay because the movement is something we probably didn't acquire at a young age, kind of like learning a language. If you learn it at three or four years old it's going to be a lot easier for you. But if you're trying to get it later on, it's going to be tougher to learn," said Roddick, whose Italian could be better.

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Gaudio may be a former Roland Garros champion, but his confidence is shot and he is seriously considering retiring after the French Open - he probably only hit that stunning backhand shot at match point down in the tie-break because he thought his second serve had landed long, then the 'out' call did not come, and so he was in a real muddle as to what to do, and flapped at the ball. Roddick eventually took the shoot-out 10-8, with his fifth match point.

One player who may not have had that much "fun" on the Roman clay was Daniele Bracciali, an Italian wild card. He was bumped out of the tournament in straight sets by Rafael Nadal, who extended his unbeaten run on clay to 73 matches, and is attempting to win his third successive title in the Italian capital. Poor Bracciali, a 6-4, 6-2 loser. The Christians had more chance against the lions.